


Unexpected Guest

by baelleza



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-14 11:29:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4562925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baelleza/pseuds/baelleza
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You caught me in the middle of a bath” she calls back to him from the bathroom, tying on her robe “and now the water’s gone cold”. The bathwater slurps down the drain as she walks out of the bathroom and past Merlin towards the stairs. </p>
<p>     “I’ll make tea” she says before swiftly making her way down the stairs. “You have to explain why you broke into my house and almost gave me a heart attack.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected Guest

**Author's Note:**

> Immense thanks to my lovely [beta](http://www.sherlockholmestm.tumblr.com/) who was my lifeline after writing this.

It had been a long ass day and Roxy had wanted nothing more than for it to end. Fuck diplomacy, fuck the prime minister, fuck putting up some crappy posh appearance. Sometimes you could only get things done with straight up violence. None of this speak softly shit. If they wanted that they should have had Percival do it. He was the charmer. She was the shooter. She actually loved the action and her job, but was getting quite tired of putting on a pretty face for Kingsman. She wanted to be behind the barrel of a gun, getting shot at. As crazy that sounds.

   The opp had been quite simple. Put a bug on the new French Prime Minister to get access to his computer. Every new entrepreneur, head of state, and billionaire left after V-Day had been at the gala. With simplicity she had slipped the bug into his pocket as she had introduced herself, but was then left with the rest of the evening to deal with. After shaking the twentieth new hand and faking smiles so much her cheeks hurt, she was praying to every deity that there would be a hostage situation within the near future. Yet the night had dragged on for two more hours. She counted it a win to enjoy expensive champagne with the view of many well dressed people.

Roxy had climbed straight into the tub the moment she got home. She didn’t even bother hanging up her clothes, which were now strewn in a trail behind her as she made her way to the bathroom. Her heels abandoned by the front door, ball gown half draped across the staircase railing. Cleaning was a job for tomorrow. Relaxing was the job for the hour and that job included a very long bath. Steam rose from the bathwater as Roxy climbed into the tub. She leaned her head back, closing her eyes as the heat of the water released the tension in her muscles.         

The jarring crack of the deadbolt lock on her front door startled Roxy awake. She sat up and looked at the time; past midnight. She could just be hearing things. Half dreaming. The door sent a loud squeak through the house as an intruder stepped inside the house. Ok, definitely not dreaming then. Training took over as she stepped out of the bath without making much noise, straining to hear the footsteps which stalked around the living room downstairs.

Thoughts raced in her head, processing every possible situation she could be in. 

What if this was because of Kingsman? Her eyes widened as her heartbeat picked up. She listened for footsteps, only being able to make out one set. Probably not an attempt on her life because of Kingsman, they would be professionals, and professionals usually work in teams, with order and precision. Professionals would know that one man wouldn’t be enough to take her down. That thought calmed her a small bit. 

This could be a robbery, was next thought. Even though I’m never home and have nothing of value here. This could be a kidnapping, she realized, dread pouring into her stomach at the thought. Maybe someone from the gala, wanting to kidnap her to hold her for ransom. 

With a loud creak of the staircase Roxy realized that she would not have much more time before the intruder found her. She would have her action tonight, she thought with a smirk, opening the bathroom door and making her way to the towel closet. 

Rustling for a few seconds she found the spare gun she kept tucked in between two Kingsman embroidered towels, the footsteps becoming louder as the intruder made their way up the stairs. Roxy slid the closet door shut and pressed herself into the towels, waiting for the footsteps to make their way up. 

Pull yourself together, if they are armed, shoot first, ask questions later. She mentally scolded herself for not putting her clothes in a pile in her room. They could easily find you by just following your mess all the way to the bathroom. 

They are expecting you in the bathroom, not here in a towel closet. For the first time, Roxy realized how much the deep voice in her ear had guided her through everything. Had made sure she knew she wasn’t alone like she was now. She wrapped her hand around the cool handle of the closet door, skin turning cold with the rush of adrenaline; the barrel of her gun pressing against her thigh. 

The loud thump of footsteps passed the closet door without hesitation. Roxy let out a steady breath before slamming the closet door open, lunging out, gun trained on the intruder. 

Her ears rang and her vision went sharp, but her feet did not stumble and her hands never trembled. At the sound of movement, the intruder spun around to face her, his arms up in surrender, eyes wide in alarm. 

“Don’t shoot!” shouts Merlin. 

“How the hell did you get in my house?” she screams back.

“I’ll tell you when you put your gun away” he yells back, eyes darting to her gun still trained not a foot away from him. 

“Right” she murmurs, lowering her gun, stuffing it back between the two towels before looking back to Merlin. 

Eyes wide and red in the face, Merlin stood what seemed to be very uncomfortably frozen in his spot, eyes desperately avoiding her. “You might- ah- want to- ah-” he stutters out, motioning towards her right before she feels a cool water drop falls from her hair and slides down her bare chest. It rolls silently, falling to the carpet with a soft plop before she feels another cool drop land on her shoulder.     

Roxy retains her blush like she isn’t flashing her coworker and friend on whom she has a schoolgirl crush on. Business as usual, a small smirk curls on her lips as she reaches into the closet to pull out a fluffy towel to dry her hair. It’s go big or go home now, she thought, bundling her hair in the towel like a turban. She saunters past Merlin, who is now a more pale pink, and noticeably less statuesque. 

“You caught me in the middle of a bath” she calls back to him from the bathroom, tying on her robe “and now the water’s gone cold”. The bathwater slurps down the drain as she walks out of the bathroom and past Merlin towards the stairs. 

“I’ll make tea” she says before swiftly making her way down the stairs. “You have to explain why you broke into my house and almost gave me a heart attack.”

Roxy pulls her phone out from her robe pocket and frantically texts a message to Eggsy.

[Text To: Eggsy] - has Harry ever seen you naked?

A ping sounds a moment later.

[Text From: Eggsy] - ...we fuck Rox

[Text To: Eggsy] - what happens when he sees you naked accidentally??? is it awkward???

[Text From: Eggsy] - there’s nothing ‘accidental’ about it ;)

Roxy rolls her eyes, restraining herself from groaning audibly and settles on pinching the bridge of her nose before hearing her phone ping again.

[Text From: Eggsy] - Wait why?

[Text To: Eggsy] - Merlin broke into my house and I flashed him. Details tomorrow. Xx.

Roxy sent her last reply and promptly shut off her phone. Clamoring around her kitchen in search of something decent in her sparsely stocked pantry, she decides against the whiskey she knows they both need at the moment and settles for tea. Setting two tea cups on a tray she moves over carefully to Merlin, who is sitting on her couch with his hands on his lap like a child called to the principal’s office. 

She puts the tray on a small table in front of him, taking her cup before sitting down next to Merlin. He was sitting stiffly, his back uncomfortably straight, not touching the couch. Roxy opens her mouth to ask a question but quickly drops it the moment Merlin makes eye contact with her. 

“I am absolutely so sorry for intruding I had no idea that I would scare you or see you naked, for that matter, which I am so sorry for, I know it was an invasion of privacy and I know I’ve observed your honeypot missions but I know that isn’t the same and-”

An escaped giggle from Roxy cuts him off. He looks up at her, hand over her mouth trying to suppress a laugh. Merlin huffs out an embarrassed smile, much like the one he had at lunch the other day, Roxy notices.

“I’m going to accept your apology because you are more flustered now than you were on V-Day, but I still don’t know why you’re here.” Roxy says with a smile. It was then that Merlin’s face shifted back to that of shame. 

 “It really wasn’t that important, and now that I’m here I actually feel very silly” He stands as if to go, but Roxy moves in front of him, blocking his way with her comparably very short body.

"Merlin, you broke into my house, I flashed you and almost shot you, so you are going to sit down, enjoy your tea, and tell me why you are here". She was no imposing threat to him, they both knew it, but he sits back down regardless. Roxy sets her cup down and sits next to him, her face softening at his odd behavior. It was not like Merlin to back down from something, or lose his resolve. She takes his hands into hers, and looks him in the eye with a mixture of concern and seriousness. 

“Whatever it may be” she starts gently, “I’d bet it’s worth voicing”.

She lets his hands go, in an attempt to not cage him in, disguising her movement by unwrapping her hair out of the towel it was in, and setting it on the back of a nearby chair. She turns back to him. 

“I wanted to fill you in on the Prime minister, we have all the necessary information we need now, thanks to you. Look this over for any discrepancies.” he pauses and takes a USB out of his pocket. He sets it on the table gingerly, staring at it, clenching and unclenching his hands, attempting to find the right words. He looks back at her, “but my biggest reason for coming over, in all honesty was because I wanted to see how you were. Saying that now sounds so ridiculous.”

He smiles lightly and they stay quiet for a moment, sipping at their tea before Roxy speaks up.

“Well that is a pretty ridiculous reason” Merlin almost chokes on his tea, coughing it up as he sets his cup down. His face reddens and he attempts to speak but is quieted by Roxy taking his hands into her own. “But our lives are pretty ridiculous aren't they?” she meets his eyes “we work for a spy organization that disguises itself as a tailor shop, use electric rings and umbrella guns. Our lives aren’t hinged on sensibility”. She pauses to take a breath and find her words, “so no matter how absurd your reason, I’m glad you stopped by. Though I would rather have not almost shot you”. 

With a soft smile, all the remaining discomfort disappears, the usual ease that they have around each other settling back in. Merlin leans back comfortably on the couch, prompting her to curl into his side, laying her head on his chest into the crook of his neck. Their breaths steady as they sit there enjoying the quiet.

“I just worry so much-” then with a pause so soft as if Merlin is scared of saying it aloud “about you”. 

Roxy’s breath hitches but she does move. She grips her robe closer to herself as her stomach drops for a split second, the warmth of the surprise spreading through her limbs. She remembers the first time her stomach had dropped like this, they had been sharing lunch together at a cafe a few blocks from the shop and he had laughed wholeheartedly, until he was red. It had been over something she couldn’t remember now, but it was the first time she had seen him so carefree since she became Lancelot. It was also then that she knew she was fucked. Then weeks passed, and she thought she had these flutters under control. She convinced herself that she had just been surprised. 

The next time she felt the flutters was after a successful mission, scratch free.

She was heading off to debrief with Arthur when Merlin called out “Well done, Roxy” instead of his customary “Well done, Lancelot”, a strange tone carrying in his voice which she could only describe as caring. Weaving her ways through the halls of HQ, replaying the sound of her name on his lips, her limbs growing cold while her chest burned hot, knowing that she was definitely not safe from this feeling.

Schoolgirl crush on a superior, she thought to herself, nothing with substance. So she let herself indulge in quick flutters and rushes of joy over the smallest of gestures, all justified with the excuse that like all small crushes, they faded. 

It took two gunshots to the chest to prove to her how much this was not a temporary feeling. The memories still raw, she remembers with clarity the chaos, being wheeled into medical, nurses yelling in a rushed hum around her, and only being able to make out his presence. He had run alongside her stretcher, face contorted into fear, his voice more desperate than she had ever heard before, yelling “do not die on me Roxy! Do not die!” She had believed the anguish in his voice had been exaggerated by the adrenaline haze; her mind feeding her delusions out of blood loss and pain, but now it was very clear she was not holding on to false hope. 

Oddly bold for the second time that night, Roxy peels herself off Merlin’s side to stand directly in front of him. Startled by the abrupt movement, words left him as she cups his face in her hands, wonder and confusion dancing across his features. The silent question of hope in Roxy’s mind was confirmed when she met his gaze, and he made no effort to move away from her. She leaned down close enough to share a breath with him, resting her forehead against his, her eyes fluttering shut as he tilts his face into hers. 

“Is this what you want?” asks Merlin, so faint she barely hears it.

Roxy answers his question by delicately pressing her lips to his, kissing him tentatively even as his hands move into her hair. He kisses her slowly for a fleeting moment before they break away. Roxy keeps her forehead rested on his for a few long coveted moments, reveling in the flutters turned monarch butterflies within her chest. 

“If it’s fine by you, stay the night” Roxy breathes out, standing up straighter and leaves the question to hang between them before moving away from him. 

Merlin nods once, and stands from the couch, following her as they make their way up the stairs.

Roxy realizes that she does not feel uncomfortable in any way as they enter her room, she searches for it in her mind and cannot come up with a scrap of discomfort. There is no palpable shift that needs getting used to, rather as if this had been a natural progression that was always intended to happen. 

Roxy steps into her closet to change out of her robe and find Merlin something he could wear for the night. She fishes out a pair of pants she hopes will be long enough for his legs and tosses them vaguely his way, she herself still submerged in her closet. 

When she steps out, Merlin is already sitting in bed, tie and sweater laid on the back of her desk chair, shoes near the foot of the bed. Climbing in after him, she flicks off the last light and settles into his side. She lays her head on his chest, his heartbeat steady under her ear. She takes a deep breath and lets it go slowly, a swirl of tension forming. She couldn’t do this by halves, not with him. With Merlin it would always be diving into the deep end. 

“Do you remember when I got shot a few months back?”

Merlin tenses “Yes, in detail, unfortunately”. Roxy can’t make out his face but she imagines it isn’t a happy one. 

“I realized a lot that night. I was making trivial excuses that were holding me back” she leans back on her arm, motioning into the air “realized I wanted this” she looks at him “realized I wanted you”. 

Her eyes having adjusted to the darkness, she can see his quick blinks. 

“Well you weren’t the only one” his voice is rough, “realized I should have asked you to coffee a long time ago, every reason I had made up not to seems so petty now” he brushed a hair behind her ear “I realized how integral you had become to my life” bring his hand to cup her face “how much I love you”. 

He pulls her in for a kiss, still soft and gentle. 

“So this is what you want?” 

 “You’re all I want” he says, before pulling her back in, and kissing her, hard.

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on [tumblr](http://www.missgalahad.tumblr.com/) ∩(︶▽︶)∩


End file.
